Laura Ling said "luxuries that I didn't have when I was held in North Korea ... became little treasures for me"

Published at 12:49 PM PDT on May 10, 2018

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This Aug. 5, 2009, file photo shows journalist Laura Ling speaking in front of former Vice President Al Gore and former President Bill Clinton after she and Euna Lee returned from detention in North Korea. Ling, in a new interview with NBC News, reflected on her release after three Americans returned to the U.S. from North Korean captivity on May 10, 2018.

When three Americans returned to the U.S. Thursday after being held captive in North Korea, journalist Laura Ling was "overjoyed" and couldn't help but think of her own experience of isolation, fear and destitution while held captive — and how those experiences influenced her initial days back home.

Ling said in an interview with NBC News that she had a new appreciation for "the smallest things." Music on the radio and the National Anthem made her emotional. Her gratitude deepened tremendously for even the smallest freedoms that “we tend to take for granted too often," she said.

“Just being able to take a walk, a stroll in my neighborhood, to look at the stars at night,” she said. “These were things that, luxuries that I didn't have when I was held in North Korea. And so they became little treasures for me.”

Ling was held captive in 2009 for 140 days with fellow journalist Euna Lee. The pair were working at the time for the now-defunct Current TV on a story about North Korean defectors. Former President Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang and helped secure their release.

Trump Welcomes American Detainees Freed From N. Korea

President Donald Trump welcomed the three Americans freed from North Korean detention on May 10, 2018, taking time to thank North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He also spoke about the upcoming summit between the U.S. and North Korea.